Sunday, March 11, 2012

Spanakopita (spinach pie with cheese)

I like the combo of spinach and cheese but whenever I think of buying it, the ingredients will always include egg. I thought of preparing myself without egg. I surely have to tell the spinach and cheese combination tastes heavenly.

Spanakopita is a Greek pastry. According to Wikipedia spanakopita is "It is in the burek family of pastries with a filling of chopped spinach,feta cheese (sometimes in combination with  ricotta cheese, as it is less expensive, and adds creaminess), onions or scallions, egg  and seasoning"


The cheese blended well with spinach so there was no need of eggs. I avoided lots of butter, to say the spray was really useful. If you don't have spray you can use a mixture of butter and olive oil. For easier way you can use frozen spinach too.

Phyllo sheets are layered with savory spinach and feta cheese. Spanakopita can be made ......

as a pie, individual shapes or like pita bread too. Even if it cools the phyllo has a lot of crispiness, so it can be used in parties too. It can be prepared ahead  before for party and can be kept in freezer. At the time of party you can just bake it.

For vegan version, butter can be replaced with olive oil and cheese can be replaced with tofu.

Ingredients:

Phyllo sheets - 1 pack
Spinach - 2 cups
Garlic - 2 pods
Onion - 1
Spring onions - 1 bunch
Feta cheese - 1/2 cup (scrambled)
Paramesan cheese - 2 tbsp
Green Chilly - 2 or 3 or pepper
Butter - 3 tbsp + Oil spray
Salt - as per taste



Method:

Chop onion, spinach, garlic, green chilly(if using) very finely.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 2 tbsp of olive oil . Add finely chopped onions,green chilly, spring onions. Cook until softened. Add chopped spinach and cook for 5 minutes or until the water is released. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring often, until the spinach is dry, 5 to 8 minutes.

Stir salt, feta cheese and Parmesan cheese. If using pepper, it can be added now. Switch off immediately, allow to cool.
 

 Lightly oil a rectangular baking pan. Melt the butter. Unroll the phyllo sheets  in a dry surface. Lay 1 sheet in the pan and grease with butter or spray the oil. Repeat like this for 8 layers. Each layer should be brushed with oil or butter.





Spread the spinach mixture over the phyllo. Top with 8 more sheets brushing each one with butter and oil, including the top layer. If there are excess sheets on the sides cut with a sharp knife. (I folded all the excess on that itself).

Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.

If you feel it is not easy to handle, refrigerate for 30 minutes or cut the squares in the pan itself carefully not to disturb the spinach mixture. Spray some water on top. Bake the pie until crisp and golden , about 30 minutes.




Note:

Phyllo sheets are very thin and difficult to handle(for first time). It is very essential to keep in a damp cloth to avoid drying. If it is exposed without the damp cloth the sheet will cut.

If the sheets are cut, you can insert in the middle layers.

If using frozen, remove from freezer, without unwrapping keep in the refrigerator for overnight. Once it is thawed, unwrap the sheets and remove only the number of sheets needed for the recipe; Wrap in the same plastic wrap and return to the freezer.

Sending it to Chef Al Dente for the Gimme Green event,
                to Tickling Palates for the Let's Cook Greens event,
                to Sumee's Culinary Bites for the Bon Vivant event,
                to Sara's Corner for the Women's Day Celebration event,
                to Shama's Easy2cook Recipes for Sara's Cooking With Love - Granddad Series event,
                to Srav's Cooking Concepts for the Vegan Diet - Only Plant Based event and to
                to Cuisine Delights for the Spotlight - Colorful Holi event.
                to Priya easy and tasty Kids Delight event




 

 

26 comments:

VineelaSiva said...

Wow looks very tempting.Love it.Is it ok to use cream cheese instead of feta cheese.

Sobha Shyam said...

wow, they look yummy, have never tried these...spinach n cheese is sure a great combo.

Join the Just "4" Fun event :)

Hema said...

Awesome work Anu, spinach and cheese is a yummy combo..

Diane said...

This looks quite delicious. Definitely one for me. Diane

easyfoodsmith said...

I too love the cheese and spinach combo. It is not only healthy but tastes great. I wonder what I can use instead of phyllo sheets since it is not easily available here...Any substitutes?

Vimitha Durai said...

They look so yummy and flaky...

Faseela said...

Anu, great job out there dear......awesome.

Kanan said...

wow. looks so mouthwatering. you did great job.

Anonymous said...

this looks really stunning - I always get in a muddle with the filo dough!!
Mary x

FewMinute Wonders said...

They look warm and wonderful.

Menaga Sathia said...

woww it looks mouthwatering dear!!

Raks said...

Pie looks incredibly delicious and healthy with spinach!

Suja Manoj said...

Mouthwatering,looks rich and delicious.

Achu's Amma's Kitchen said...

yummy mouthwatering..delicious dish

Sumee said...

Looks superb.. Love those layers., thnx for linking up this wonderful spanakopita

Julie said...

Yummy pastry..spinach n cheese a lovely combo!!

Cook in any recipe with "Cilantro /Cumin & Just link in EP Series-Cilantro /Cumin Event

Erivum Puliyum

www.mahaslovelyhome.com said...

This looks really very healthy and delicious too....thanx dear 4 sharing this...nice ..
Maha

Kai ruchi said...

Lovely! I have been wanting to try this since a very long time.. Bookmarking this recipe for sure!

Sumi said...

Very yummy, have tasted this yummy pastry when in europe..Spinach and feta are indeed a deadly combination, works freat in calzones too :)

Unknown said...

Superb healthy pie. Thanks for linking my event.

Cuisine Delights
My First Event - "COLOURFUL HOLI".

Rosh said...

Yummy yumm! Very intriguing name and an equally exciting pastry!! This one is definitely a keeper :) Thanks a lot for linking this to my event.

Do vote for your favourite recipes in the Gimme GREEN entries!

Chef Al dente On going event: Gimme GREEN!

Anonymous said...

I made this spanakopita tonight! I worked in a Middle Eastern/Greek restaurant for five years and this is the BEST spanakopita I have ever tasted. So delicious, and you got the flavor right to the T!! Dip it in some tzatziki (cucumber yogurt dip) and it's the most heavenly combination you'll ever eat.

Vanamala Hebbar said...

I bookmarked this recipe....very nice recipe

Shella said...

They look awesome and ready to dig in. Soooo crisp n d filling looks delish. Www.kitchensecrets.blogspot.com

Shruti J said...

A gud one :)

Nukkadwala said...

Information is pretty good and impressed me a lot. This article is quite in-depth and gives a good overview of the topic.
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